3. AkzoNobel
Amsterdam
31.20.502.7833
CEO/Chairman of the Board of Management: Thierry Vanlancker
Coatings Sales: $10.6 billion (€9.26 billion)
AkzoNobel is a leader in the manufacture of paints and coatings with operations in more than 150 countries. The company employs approximately 34,500 people around the world.
AkzoNobel is organized into two business units: Decorative Paints and Performance Coatings. In 2018, sales in the decorative paints segment were €3.699 billion, compared to €3.898 billion in 2017. Sales in performance coatings were €5.587 billion in 2018, compared to €5.775 billion in 2017. Main business operations within the Decorative Paints business unit include: Decorative Paints Europe, Middle East and Africa; Decorative Paints Asia; and Decorative Paints Latin America. Brands for this business unit include Coral, Dulux, Flexa, Hammerite, Sadolin and Sikkens. Main business operations within the Performance Coatings business unit include Automotive and Specialty Coatings, Marine and Protective Coatings, and Industrial and Powder Coatings. Brands include Awlgrip, International, Interpon and Sikkens.
In October 2018, the company finalized the sale of its Specialty Chemicals business to The Carlyle Group and GIC, focusing AkzoNobel’s business on paints and coatings.
In terms of regional sales, North America accounted for 12% of sales in 2018, Mature Europe accounted for 34%, Emerging Europe accounted for 9%, Asia-Pacific accounted for 31%, Latin America accounted for 9%, and other regions made up 5% of sales.
Source: AkzoNobel 2018 Annual Report, press releases
Notes: AkzoNobel made a number of acquisitions in 2018. In September, the company completed acquisitions of Xylazel in Spain and Doves Decorating Supplies in the U.K. The company completed the acquisition of Romanian decorative paints provider Fabryo Corporation S.R.L. in October 2018, and the acquisition of Colourland Paints Sdn Bhd and Colourland Paints (Marketing) Sdn Bhd in Malaysia in November 2018. In December, the company purchased the minority interest share to obtain full ownership of the AkzoNobel Swire Paints joint venture in China, which strengthens its position in the Chinese decorative paints market.
Over the past year, AkzoNobel opened an R&D lab complex to test new products at the company’s Felling, U.K., site; opened a new wood coatings application training center near São Paulo, Brazil; opened a coil coatings production facility in Nairobi, Kenya; and opened a powder coatings plant in Changzhou, China.
The company also launched its Paint the Future startup challenge, dedicated to discovering new solutions and accelerating innovation in coatings. In May of this year, the company named the five winners of the challenge.
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